2012 Training Camp Saturday July 28 Day 4 (Jennings has Bruised Elbow)

Practice wrap
jsonline.com
by Lori Nickel on Saturday, July 28th, 2012

quote:

Running back Alex Green has had three good days of training camp practice without any setbacks. He's on a limited number of practice snaps for now.

McCarthy spoke highly of a few standouts in camp already, and one of them was tight end D.J. Williams, who had a big play down the middle of the field on a tough throw by Aaron Rodgers: “D.J. is a stronger man, he’s doing a really good job playing the inside part of the field. DJ – he and Ryan taylor both – are much stronger, moving better, more athletic. I see it in their balance, not getting knocked off their feet. And it’s probably more that they have a clearer understanding of their role. They’re both very competitive and very much part of our special teams unit. You look at the linebackers and tight ends, the amount of work they have during the course of the practice, there’s not another position that takes as many reps as those guys. Those guys have a really hard workload for their particular body type, 250 pounds, for as much running and the number of reps they go through. DJ is doing an excellent job with that." continue

Past the click Lori Nickel has; quotes from MM on the overall tone of the practice, an update on Jermichael Finley's health, and why Anthony Hargrove wasn't back today.

Embarrassment motivates Packers CB Shields to improve his tackling
jsonline.com
by Tyler Dunne on Saturday, July 28th, 2012

quote:

This summer, cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. told Shields he must play with more physicality. Above all, his tackling must improve.

"When running backs or receivers break out, you just need to come in and tackle," Shields said. "It's just getting into that routine so when the game time comes, you're used to it. So that's the thing Coach Whitt told me to keep doing."

Sitting on a table in the Packers locker room Friday, Shields jolts up to demonstrate. "Tagging off," he calls it. This is how he must tackle in 2012. He lifts his arms out and pretends to wrap up at someone's ankles. Too often last season, Shields threw a shoulder at a running back or receiver. Before his senior year at Miami (Fla.), he never played defense, period.

snip

Further, Shields admits teams probably studied him on film. He realizes now his eyes gave too much away. In 2011, Shields was caught peeking into the backfield. This year, he hopes to eliminate this bad habit.
continue

Past the click Tyler Dunne has; a lot more from Shields, Jarrett Bush talking about Shield's strengths, the abuse Shields took from everyone back home in Florida for his effort on this play, and how he plans to correct it. Well worth the read.

Multitasking continues for WR Cobb
jsonline
by Tyler Dunne on Saturday, July 28th, 2012

quote:

Dynamic in the open field, it's no secret Cobb could be utilized in the offense more this season. He even briefly appeared in the backfield last season, something the Packers have continued to experiment with at training camp.

...as a receiver, Cobb is maturing quickly. This past off-season, he refined his route-running in Green Bay and back in Lexington.

As you may recall, Cobb ran the wrong route on his first touchdown reception. Through OTAs and training camp, he says he hasn't botched one route. continue

Past the click Tyler Dunne has; a bunch more quotes from Cobb talking about all his roles and his 'it' factor, and info on his progression with his degree.

Thanks for the various updates/news from training camp!!

My pleasure.

Rough start for Shields
Green Bay Press Gazette
by Rob Demovsky on Saturday, July 28th, 2012

quote:

A day after third-year cornerback Sam Shields talked about how he’s in a fight for his job, he did little to help himself.

In the first padded practice of training camp, Shields gave up a long touchdown to James Jones and another deep completion against the third-string offense, when rookie QB B.J. Coleman threw over the top of Shields and found rookie receiver Dale Moss continue

The other side of a serious injury
Green Bay Press Gazette
by Rob Demovsky on Saturday, July 28th, 2012

quote:

There was genuine concern for rookie tackle Mike McCabe, who sustained what appeared to be a serious hip injury in today’s practice.

The rookie fell awkwardly during a one-on-one pass blocking/pass rushing drill. The 23-year-old undrafted free agent from Holy Cross was down on the field for several minutes and had to be carted off. Before he was taken away, offensive line coach James Campen had a heartfelt moment with him. continue

Past the click Rob Demovsky has a quote from Mike Daniels about the incident and Daniels' character is present in his comments.


The return of Lawrence Guy
Green Bay Press Gazette
by Rob Demovsky on Saturday, July 28th, 2012

quote:

He sustained a concussion in practice on Aug. 3, 2011, when he said he got hit in the jaw. Though he returned five days later, by Aug. 17 he was back on the sidelines after symptoms recurred. He never returned and placed on season-ending injured reserve.

In some ways, it was like the seventh-round pick was granted a redshirt year. Though he couldn’t practice, he said he was symptom-free by the second week of September and remained in Green Bay to attend daily meetings and work out.continue

Past the click Rob Demovsky has some quotes from Guy.


Video:
Kevin Greene works with Packers OLBs
Packers defensive linemen hit the sleds

I think those videos are only allowed for 24 hours by NFL rules.

Photography:
Photos: Training camp practice, July 28, 2012
Green Bay Press Gazette
all Photo's by H. Marc Larson

(there's a bunch of nice pics today, really worth the click, IMO)

Wouldn't be shocked to see Shields behind House and Hayward at the beginning of the season. I think he gets another season to grow into it but he seems overwhelmed with what he needs to fix to play DB at this level. House and Hayward know the position, they are adjusting to NFL play. Shields obviously has the talent but he's swimming in his own failures.

Green Bay Packers Training Camp: Notes, Thoughts, and Observations Practice 3
acmepackingcompany.com
by PackApologist on Saturday, July 28th, 2012

quote:

Biggest surprise of the day - The use of Randall Cobb. Today I saw Cobb line up at WR and RB. He was in the slot, he was out wide, he was returning kicks and punts, he was the single back in the short gun, he was the in the eye. They ran him up the middle, gave him a couple tosses, ran him on reverses, he caught screen passes (both out of the backfield and out wide) as well as the traditional down the field routes and receptions. Heck I even saw him as the backup holder on Thursday. If this continues in camp then we may be in store for a Percy Harvin or Darren Sproles type role for Cobb this coming year. continue

A lot of nice observations after the click. Well worth it, IMO

Thanks Tit!

Insider: Hayward shows promise with pair of picks
Green Bay Press Gazette
by Rob Demovsky on Saturday, July 28th, 2012

quote:

The Packers liked Casey Hayward in the draft because of his vision for the ball and his instincts.

Those attributes already have shown up in training camp.

Though Hayward has played mostly with the backups, he took a few snaps Saturday in the No. 1 dime as an inside cover man.

snip

One of the training camp darlings of 2010, Zombo has yet to pass his physical because of a hamstring injury. It’s the same ailment that caused him to miss all of the OTA and minicamp practices this spring.continue

Past the click Rob Demovsky has; Which offensive lineman struggled the most in the one-on-ones, which defensive lineman impressed in those same drills, and an update on how the kickers are doing.

Saturday training camp report
jsonline
By Tom Silverstein on Saturday, July 28th, 2012

quote:

Third-year cornerback Sam Shields' camp went from bad to worse Saturday. He was routinely beaten and was taken out of the dime package. He is losing ground to rookie Casey Hayward, who has been the biggest story in this camp so far. Whereas Hayward is playing aggressively and confidently, Shields looks like he's unsure what's going on. Early on, quarterback Aaron Rodgers hit Randall Cobb on a 40- or 50-yard deep ball in which Shields got lost. Then, in one-on-one drills, Donald Driver spun Shields around with a hard fake inside and break to the outside for a big gain. Then, James Jones leapt over Shields for a sizable gain. Then, after watching Hayward and Devon House eat up a lot of the reps that were his on the first day of practice, Shields finished practice by giving up another bomb from rookie quarterback B.J. Coleman to receiver Dale Moss. The best part about that reception was it ended practice and kept Shields from getting beat anymore. continue

Past the click Tom Silverstein has praise for two particular aspects of the defense's blitz package and which inside linebacker was the only one to line up in the dime package.


Moses shaping up to be Packers linebacker du jour
jsonline
By Tom Silverstein on Saturday, July 28th, 2012

quote:

Every year since the Green Bay Packers started playing the 3-4 defense, there seems to be an outside linebacker who works his way up the depth chart until the coaches decide they can't cut him.

"That's pretty much the way Coach (Kevin) Greene explains it," Moses said. "He teaches us to play with passion. Obviously, I love the game. Once we put on the pads today, that was fun for me.

"Getting to hit a little bit, contact, get the blood flowing; it's fun."

On special teams Moses is a handful, and during practice Saturday he and fellow rookie Terrell Manning took out part of the right side of the return unit running down to cover a kickoff.

Later, he made a nice up-field move for a sack on his only turn in one-on-one pass drills and forced a fumble with a hard hit on tight end Eric Lair during an 11-on-11 drill. It followed a day of constantly sticking his head into the pile.

"Whether or not I'm in the right place I'm going to hit somebody, that's a sure thing," he said.continue

Past the click Tom Silverstein has; more detail on the Desmond Bishop injury, insight on Tramon Williams and how he changed his body to try to prevent his shoulders from getting injured, and observations on how Tramon looked today. Worth the click.

quote:

Originally posted by Henry:
Shields obviously has the talent but he's swimming in his own failures.

Totally see this. Shields is getting a dose of reality. If he steps up and learns from the challenge, the tandom of Williams and Shields will be the envy of the league. If not, I agree with your timing for his career.

quote:

Originally posted by Henry:
Wouldn't be shocked to see Shields behind House and Hayward at the beginning of the season. I think he gets another season to grow into it but he seems overwhelmed with what he needs to fix to play DB at this level. House and Hayward know the position, they are adjusting to NFL play. Shields obviously has the talent but he's swimming in his own failures.

I just find it odd that he played so well as a rookie and just nosed dived from there.

For sure, Pakrz. Like he's got a mental block, perhaps similar to what happens to kickers at times.

quote:

...Then, James Jones leapt over Shields for a sizable gain...

Apparently isn't improving his tackling either.

It does seem strange, in any case. I might have to break down and admit that the pass rush in '10 may have greatly helped mask his deficincies, although I suspect his DB mates had just as much to do with it.

There are a lot of things that could have contributed to what appears to be Shield's digressing since his rookie year.

He had a very good secondary behind him in 2010. Collins was key plus a healthy Tramon meant offenses had few places left to throw the ball.

All together: the pass rush was better. QBs making more hurried and inaccurate throws.

He was a rookie that offenses had no game tape on and couldn't attack his weaknesses yet. Heck, they didn't even have much college game tape on him.

I think his success in 2010 was the result of his getting by on pure atheletic ability when put in the limited spots he was put in (dime/nickel). He had to take on a lot more responsibility and was challenged a lot more last year because of all the D problems so now offenses know how to attack him. He still has tons to learn about playing the position and I wouldn't be suprised if his career ends up being a little like Tramon's where he had to work hard for years before everything really clicked. What worries me is I don't know if he has the drive and commitment Tramon does to stick with it that long before he sees enough success.

Mike Daniels = John Randel

I think our DL will be noticably more disruptive this season.

It's not always going to be 83 degrees. In the 60's overnight.